We’re working to improve your experience – how we listen and respond to student feedback

We are continually working to improve your experience at Queen Mary, and we have made some significant developments over the summer in response to feedback from students and a result of the Students’ Union working on your behalf.

26 September 2018

This week, you will see a number of our ‘We listen’ statements around campus, highlighting the work that has and is taking place.

There are many ways that you can provide feedback throughout your time at Queen Mary. We take part in national student surveys, which help us to compare the experience here with that of other institutions, to ensure we're supporting you in the best way possible. At the end of every module, you are encouraged to complete an anonymous module evaluation questionnaire which provides another way for us to improve our modules and courses. You can suggest improvements to one of a number of representatives, or stand for election yourself. You can also use the Students’ Union ideas page.

Your views will be an integral part of our Going for Gold initiative to achieve excellence in education at Queen Mary through the co-creation of ideas by staff and students. We will be providing opportunities for ongoing feedback, so that everyone at Queen Mary feels part of a learning community of practice.

Stephanie Marshal, Vice-Principal (Education), Queen Mary University of London

Ahmed Mahbub, President, Queen Mary Students' Union

Reduced costs for students

We have increased the print credit allowance so that all students now receive £10 iPay credit at the start of each academic year. You can use your iPay account to pay for printing, photocopying and library fines online and using your student ID card.Reduced costs for students

From Monday 1 October, we are significantly reducing the library fines* on late-returned loans in an effort to help reduce your everyday costs. We will also waive any library charges that have already been incurred up to and including 14 October if items are returned by that day. After 15 October, fines will be applied at the new level when the items are returned.

To ensure that books and other items continue to be available for all who need them, we will be working to find different ways to encourage prompt return of resources. You will still be able to avoid fines altogether by renewing your items online in a timely way.

*Please note that financial income has never been the focus when it comes to fines; it is simply a way to encourage prompt return of items so that they are accessible for all as a shared community resource.

New lockers installed on campus

In response to student feedback and continued lobbying from your Students’ Union representatives on Student Council and the Executive Officers, we have installed 120 lockers in the Bancroft Building at Mile End. The lockers are primarily intended for use by commuting students to leave belongings while on campus.

The lockers will operate on an honour system for short-term use only, so do please consider others’ needs when using them. All you need to do to secure the lockers is buy a padlock from the Village Shop. Please note that all possessions must be removed at the end of each term.

This is the first phase of a project to provide more facilities on campus. The second phase will see an upgraded provision with multiple different-sized lockers operated via the student ID card system. We hope that this will be in place for the start of the second semester in January.

New and improved study spaces

In response to student feedback, we have launched an ongoing project to increase the amount of study space across our campuses, and make the University a better place for students to work and socialise.

As part of this work, we have opened new and improved spaces for group study in:

Law Building foyer (Mile End)

ArtsOne foyer (Mile End)

ArtsTwo foyer (Mile End)

Joseph Priestley Building foyer (Mile End)

Garrod Building Junior Common Room (Whitechapel).

We’ve also made it easier to identify what type of study the different spaces are intended for:

Individual study

Group study

Social study

This should help to reduce the level of noise and disturbance in areas intended for individual study while making it easier for groups to work together quietly or more animatedly in the dedicated group and social study areas.

We have also made it easier to find the different study spaces by adding location categories for each type (individual, group and social) on the QMUL app maps.

As part of continuing work to make our campuses better places for students to study and socialise, we are working to:

Increase furniture in the Graduate Centre open spaces (Mile End)

Increase furniture in the postgraduate area of the Graduate Centre

Increase outdoor furniture in Graduate Square

Introduce more locker storage across campus

Consultation on how to use and improve the Mucci’s restaurant at Mile End

Increase furniture in the Canalside study space at Mile End

Increase outdoor furniture along canal

Improve the facilities in the BLSA Building at Whitechapel.

If you have any comments or feedback on this work, please get in touch with the project team at estates-space@qmul.ac.uk.

Improved timetable function on the QMUL app

We have refreshed the timetable tile on the QMUL app so that it displays better on mobile devices. You have the choice of a week or month view of your timetable to best fit your screen size. You can move forward or back a month or week at a time or select a date to jump to. Clicking on an activity will pull up the campus map to show you where the room is. There is also an iCal feed link that you can use to import your timetable into your preferred calendar app.